Public pay deal up for discussion with troika

The troika is set to meet the head of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform today, but the department denies troika lenders expressed concern about savings under the Croke Park deal.

Department secretary general Robert Watt will outline to the troika’s visiting teams the savings that have been made in the public sector under the deal with trade unions.

His department yesterday insisted the troika had never expressed concern in respect of the Croke Park savings. The statement followed reports that the experts from the EU-IMF-ECB troika had become increasingly frustrated with the Coalition cutting services for the public rather than tackling vested interests in the public sector.